This weekend, Shane and I continued our now two-week streak of experimenting with new pizza recipes. (Woohoo us! Break out the vegan champagne, y’all, this calls for a celebration!) Anyhow, since I tend to be rather repetitive when it comes to toppings*, I decided to try out a veggie lover’s pizza for a change (albeit a minor change, but still!).

1. In a medium size bowl, combine both flours, as well as the ground flax seeds, yeast and salt. Mix well.

2. In a measuring cup, measure out the warm water. Stir in the olive oil and agave and pour this liquid onto the dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly until the dough forms into a workable ball. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for several minutes, or until the dough is no longer sticky.

3. Place the ball of dough in a bowl and let rest, covered with a towel or cover, for at least 20 minutes (until the ball has doubled in size) or up to several hours.

4. When ready to assemble and bake your pizza, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

6. Add your favorite (vegan!) toppings. For this Veggie Lover’s pizza, we used red sauce, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella Daiya cheese, broccoli and cauliflower florets (frozen since it’s still winter, but defrosted on the counter for four hours prior!), diced carrots and black olives, all held together with an extra dusting of Daiya on top. Don’t be shy with those veggies, people!

7. Bake at 425 degrees, for between 15 and 20 minutes for a single pizza, or 30 minutes for two pizzas (or until the crust is browned). Be sure to rotate racks at the halfway point!

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* What can I say? When I find something I like, I stick with it! Why hello CSI rerun, I know I’ve seen you eight times now, but what’s once more between friends? Sexual Politics of Meat reference, holla!

Contests and giveaways!Leslie Loves Veggies has six jars of Food for Lovers Vegan Queso for three lucky winners; over at The Dirty Vegan, there’s a Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss prize pack up for grabs; and you can enter to win a Tasty Bite Meal Kit from The Vegan Backpacker. That last contest ends today, so don’t dawdle, mkay?

Spay and Neuter Kansas City is in need of “laundry soap, bleach, newspaper & cardboard flats for litter boxes! Newspaper & flats on the top of the list as these cannot be bought. If you or anyone you know (neighbors) has a newspaper subscription with old papers stacking up, we could really use them! Thanks in advance!” Additionally, they’re in need of an experienced foster home for a new mother and here pups. Finally, you can read up on this week’s volunteer opportunities here.

The Natural Products Expo West is happening in Anaheim this weekend and, for those of us not lucky enough to live in Cali, quarrygirl has a massive roundup of her favorite products, including tweets from Chicago Soydairy (like peeps, but vegan!); mozzarella sticks made with Teese cheese (also vegan!); the new pepperjack-flavored Daiya cheese; and some soy pepperoni crumbles from el burrito – to name just a few. Cue: tummy rumbles.

Brought to you from the folks behind Vegan Backpacker, Vegan Cuts is a cool new service that delivers deals on coupons on vegan products and services to your inbox weekly. Convenient, right? So what are you waiting for? Sign up here!

Finally, I’d hoped to have a list of resources available to those who’d like to donate to relief efforts in Japan; unfortunately, I haven’t yet found the time to research and compile a list. Instead, check out this guide to giving from charity watchdog Charity Navigator – and please think twice about giving to the American Red Cross, which has a history of misusing emergency funds, conducts vivisection, and discriminates against GLBTQ folks. Food for Life Global is a personal favorite, but it’s not yet clear whether they’re providing relief to the quake and tsunami survivors in Japan.

Shane and I decided over the weekend to start a new culinary tradition: every Saturday, experiment with a new pizza recipe, whether it involves dough, sauce, spices, toppings, methodology, whathaveyou. It will be a difficult promise to keep, I know – not so much on the noming side so much as the planning – but hey, the things we do for you peeps!

Our first foray into the unknown remained on the, um, cautiously safe / slightly lazy side, to wit: a crispy, crunchy cornmeal pizza crust from about.com. Not quite thin, but also not nearly as thick as our standard white crust, this pie was a nice change of pace. The cornmeal lends a rich, somewhat buttery taste to the crust, and the added texture complements the toppings deliciously. I will most definitely be adding this recipe to our regular lineup!

If you’d like a thin(ner) crust, you could divvy this recipe up to make two pizzas – maybe two medium-sized pies, or perhaps a large or medium pie and a smaller, “personal pan” portion.

2. Add the oil, salt and enough flour to form a workable ball. Knead, adding flour as needed, for about three to five minutes or until the dough is no longer sticky.

3. Place the ball of dough in a bowl and let rest, covered with a towel or cover, for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour. You can also make the dough in advance and store it, covered in the fridge, all day.

4. When ready to assemble and bake your pizza, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

(We used red sauce, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella Daiya cheese, black olives and Lightlife Smart Pepperoni, layered in that order, with an extra dusting of cheese on top to bind all the toppings together.)

7. Bake at 425 degrees, for between 15 and 20 minutes for a single pizza, or 30 minutes for two pizzas (or until the crust is browned). Be sure to rotate racks at the halfway point!

Contests and giveaways!Fave Diets has one box of (organic, vegan, Kosher) Righteously Raw Chocolate bars up for grabs (Don’t enter, though, cause these babies are ALL MINE!); vegansaurus! is giving away a Lightlife gift basket (See: previous parentheses.); you can enter to win Sjaak’s new vegan candy bars at VegNews; and one lucky Vegan Appetite reader will snag a copy of The Natural Vegan Kitchen, courtesy of The Book Publishing Company.

Global residents: if you have any scratch to spare, please consider a donation to one of these lovely (vegan!) causes!

Vegan Protest Fuel is a brand spanking new project that was just launched this week. The good folks at VPF deliver vegan food to peaceful protesters defending their rights around the world. Their first campaign? Feeding “the tenacious heroes in Madison, WI, who are fighting to preserve their precious collective bargaining rights and for economic justice in their state against a radical conservative governor and assembly.”

Oh, how I love it when my veganism collides (happily!) with other social justice movements.

Also, Team Vegan Vixens needs your support in the National Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon! Held throughout the month of April,

The Bowl-a-Thon is a nationwide series of local events that allow community members (you!) to captain your own bowling team, participate in a kickass national event – and raise money to help women and girls pay for abortions they couldn’t otherwise afford.

Abortion Funds are local, grassroots groups that work tirelessly to help low-income and disadvantaged women who want an abortion and do not have enough money to pay for it. Abortion Funds help women pay for their abortions, help them buy bus or plane tickets, and even offer women a place to stay when they have to travel for an abortion. Abortion Funds make a difference in women’s lives…and you can join them!

Team Vegan Vixens is currently the top fundraiser for the Chicago Abortion Fund, which is #8 overall. Help Team Vegan (Vixens!) represent by pledging your support.

Last weekend, Shane and I decided to try our hands at making a Potato Pizza. Okay, okay; Shane’s hands, my eyes. Using this recipe as a starting point, he came up with a pie that was similar enough (minus the fancy blue potatoes); tasty, though surprisingly dry, even with a dusting of olive oil on the dough. Even the cheese shreds and Smart Bacon were dried out and ashy, positioned as they were on the top of the pizza. Ah well, back to the drawing board!

I’m happy to report that attempt #2, carried out on Saturday night, was an unqualified success. In lieu of the red sauce that normally graces pizza, we used cheesy mashed potatoes, which lent some much-needed moisture to the pie. On top of that went some extra cheese shreds, as well as bacon slices (all vegan, of course), followed lastly by the potato slices. Nestling the cheese and bacon under the potatoes helped to protect them from scorching – and of course locked the cheese’s moisture in, to boot. The only foodstuff that came out dry and crispy were the potato slices, which were almost like homemade chips or thinly sliced fries. Delicious!

The recipe is a three-step process: cheesy mashed potato sauce, dough and pizza. Lengthy, but easy enough. For extra-shiny bonus points, make a double batch of mashed potatoes and have some while you wait for the dough to rise! (Or transform it into potato soup for a completely different dish; details below.)

1. In a large saucepan or small soup pot, bring 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to medium heat. (Use just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of your pot.) Add the diced onion and minced garlic and cook on medium until the onion is translucent and the garlic, golden brown.

2. Cut the baking potatoes into small, relatively uniform pieces: thin slices and/or small diced cubes. (The smaller the pieces, the more quickly they’ll cook.) Add them to the pot, along with just enough water and/or soy milk (I used half and half) to cover them.

3. Cook, covered on high, until the water begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and continue cook, uncovered, stirring the pot every few minutes.

4. Add in the spices to taste and continue to cook until the potatoes become tender and begin to disintegrate. As you stir the pot, mash the potatoes as best you can by hand. If you think that the potatoes look a bit on the soupy side, continue to cook on low until the mixture thickens up.

5. When done cooking, transfer the mix into a large, microwave-safe bowl. Add a pat of margarine to taste. Using a hand mixer, whip the potatoes until they become smooth and creamy. If the mix is too thick, don’t be afraid to mix in a little extra water or soy milk.

6. Add in the cheddar cheese, stirring by hand. Microwave on high for two to three minutes, stopping every minute to stir. The cheese should blend in smoothly with the potatoes after several minutes of cooking.

7. You can use this “sauce” immediately (though be careful if handling while hot), or store it in the fridge until ready for use. When cold, the potatoes will be a bit firmer, and almost Jello-like in consistency. This is okay! You can either microwave it for 30 seconds or so to “loosen” it up, or stir it by hand until it becomes more easily spreadable, almost like the cheese of a “cheese log.” (For those who are milk-allergic like moi, a better analogy might be chilled French Onion dip made with Tofutti Sour Cream! Potato, potathtoe.)